Spinner

Brian Vander Ark Literally Performs in Your Own Backyard

When Verve Pipe lead singer Brian Vander Ark played a solo show for a private party early last summer, he walked around and performed new songs for attendees in small groups. "I thought, 'I could make a buck doing this,'" Vander Ark said.

So last year, Vander Ark spent his time playing living rooms, backyards or anywhere fans paid him to play. He hoped for 25 shows; he ended up with 75. One of his stops included performing for two pregnant couples in Louisville at midnight after a gig in Indiana.

"I also played for a young couple celebrating their anniversary," he said. "They had a babysitter watch their baby for a couple hours. I play whatever they want me to play."

Funds from his 'Lawn Chairs and Living Rooms Tour '07' financed his 2008 self-titled release, produced by Bill Szymczyk (the Eagles, Bob Seger, the Who). The tour also spawned a 13-song live CD recorded in the living room of a fan in Appleton, Wis.

"It's so much more enjoyable than the club thing," Vander Ark said. "It really is a campaign -- shaking people's hands, thanking people for their support and playing music for them."

Vander Ark is reviving the 'Lawn Chairs and Living Rooms Tour' for 2008. Fans who are interested in booking Vander Ark can visit his Web site or MySpace page. "I could probably stop playing clubs," he said. "That would be fine with me."

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secondmotion

thanks for the great post about Brian!
we have recently signed Brian and will be releasing all three of his albums "Resurrection", "Angel, Put Your Face On" and the new "Brian Vander Ark" on September 30th. we will also have full downloads of individual tracks and full albums from our site as well.

please visit http://www.secondmotionrecords.com to preorder, anyone who buys the CD or full digital album will get a free mp3 of an unreleased live track of Brian covering Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" from Eddie Attic in Decatur, GA. anyone who signs up on our site will get emails for future exclusive materials and downloads in the future as well

thanks for your support!
second motion records
http://www.secondmotionrecords.com
http://secondmotion.blogspot.com

September 07 2008 at 7:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rick

Brian did a show in my parents back yard for my birthday last summer. It was the "lawn chairs" part of the tour. He played for a little over an hour then we feed him beans and cheddar brats and sent him on his way to a same-day show in Chapel Hill that evening. It was icnredible. Lots of discussion on the lawn chairs tours at http://www.bvafans.com, come join us if you like Brian!

March 26 2008 at 1:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply